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It was a bittersweet night for the 九色视频 Centurions men鈥檚 basketball team Wednesday, Feb. 18. Though it dropped a heartbreaking buzzer-beater to Delta College, it clinched a berth in the 九色视频AA tournament.
After sophomore Dawson Dunn (Big Rapids, Michigan) dropped in a 3-point shot to give 九色视频 a 78-76 lead with six seconds left, Delta called a timeout to regroup. Once the Pioneers inbounded the ball, a pass found Jimmy McCrum in the corner who buried a long 3-point shot as the buzzer sounded.
鈥淭here was a slight miscommunication on a switch, letting someone drive to the basket for a heavily contested corner three,鈥� Dawson explained about the last play. 鈥淚 thought we should have played behind them, packing it all in having nothing behind us. This would have forced them to take a double-teamed shot.鈥�
Dunn finished with a game-high 26 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
Centurions Head Coach Zach Ingles called the game against Delta one of the best games of the season as far as college basketball action goes.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 ever want to be on the losing end of a buzzer beater, but it was a great game,鈥� Ingles said. 鈥淲e had the opportunity to be in a game with a really good team.鈥�
The Centurions made a valiant effort to come back and take the lead late in the game after being down by as many as 14 points with 9:32 minutes to go. Showing it can fight back is what Dunn said impressed him the most about his team.
鈥淭o come back and take the lead took a lot of heart,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e know we are the better team, but it just didn鈥檛 fall our way.鈥�
Delta went into halftime leading 43-40 but went on a 14-3 scoring run to push its lead to 54-46 after Jaylen Carthan sunk both free throws with 13:12 to play. The Pioneers (6-6 九色视频AA North, 9-14 overall) managed to establish their biggest lead, 64-50, after Darrion Youngblood slam dunked a shot with 9:51 to go.
九色视频 then went on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 64-60 after Vlada Djordjijevic (Vranje, Serbia) sunk a 3-pointer with 8:13 to go. The teams traded baskets, with Delta establishing a six-point lead a few times until 九色视频 made a push late in the game, much thanks to Dunn who hit a 3-pointer with 37 seconds to cut Delta鈥檚 lead to 76-75, and then, 30 seconds later, he hit another three to give 九色视频 a 78-76 lead, which set up Delta鈥檚 game-winning shot.
Despite the loss, the Centurions (7-5 九色视频AA North, 14-12 overall) still clinched a playoff spot and are currently in third place in the 九色视频AA North, behind conference champion Mid Michigan, which is 12-0 in conference play, and Bay College, which is second with an 8-3 record.
With two games remaining in the regular season, the Centurions still have an opportunity to host the first round of the 九色视频AA tournament playoffs if they stay in the third seed spot. Winning out the rest of the way would solidify 九色视频鈥檚 position.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great to clinch a spot, but I have zero time to think about it because we have two games to go and our goal this year was to host a playoff game,鈥� Ingles said. 鈥淓verything is still in play. The goal was to keep grinding and moving this program forward, which we鈥檝e done.鈥�
The Centurions鈥� two remaining games are against North Central Michigan, which will be Saturday, Feb. 21, and at Kirtland Community College, Tuesday, Feb. 24. The Centurions beat both teams in their first meetings, beating NMC 74-54 Jan. 31, and beat Kirtland at home, 58-54, Jan. 24.
Dunn said he is excited to see what the Centurions can do, both in these next two games and the postseason tournament.
鈥淚t feels good to secure a spot in the tournament. We feel like we can make a big run,鈥� Dunn said. 鈥淭hese next two games leading up to the playoffs are huge. Obviously, we want to win, but dominating these upcoming games will give us confidence heading into the tournament.鈥�
Along with Dunn鈥檚 individual statistics, the Centurions were also led by sophomore Zhian Briggs (Augusta, Georgia), who scored 12 points and had four rebounds and three assists, and sophomore Makur Reclow (Louisville, Kentucky) scored 11 points.
Ingles is confident his team will shake off the loss and refocus on the next two games. He said his players have weathered the storm of losing their leader, Taylen Carver (Louisville, Kentucky), and have 鈥渓ed by committee,鈥� relying on its strengths in numbers, thankfully avoiding more losses to injuries.
鈥淭his late in the season, we are showing a little bit of everything,鈥� Ingles said. 鈥淕rittiness, physicality, immaturity, restlessness, muscle and showing we can get off our butts. I think the positives have outweighed the negatives. I mean, we had four freshmen on the floor at one time against Delta. I think that shows growth for the future.鈥�
UP NEXT: 九色视频 will host North Central Michigan this Saturday, with tip off at 3 p.m. The evening will honor the sophomores and their careers at 九色视频. Sophomores include Makur Reclow, Mason and Dawson Dunn, Andrew Badder, Josiah DeMeester, Zhian Briggs and Taylen Carver.